Robbin Laird

Stories by Robbin Laird

The case of Ukraine, looking back and looking forward

The case of Ukraine, looking back and looking forward
The case of Ukraine, looking back and looking forward

“The Russian threat to Ukrainian sovereignty is simply not about Ukraine,” writes author Robbin Laird. “It is about the stability of the current European order.”

Bombers Best Bet For Aussie Deterrence Of China

Bombers Best Bet For Aussie Deterrence Of China
Bombers Best Bet For Aussie Deterrence Of China

“I think long-range strike is about trying to keep stability in a crisis situation. And if you’re going to use it as a deterrence,” former Air Marshal Geoff Brown says. “It’s got to be responsive, it’s got to be potent, but you’ve also got to be able to signal that you can use it.”

Supporting Australia To Deter China Helps America

Supporting Australia To Deter China Helps America
Supporting Australia To Deter China Helps America

  As the Biden administration focuses on ways to improve deterrence in the Pacific, reenforcing Australia’s defense against China is a good place to start. Working closely with Australia now can send an important message to Beijing that political intimidation, backed by economic and military threats, is not in its long-term interest. For those not…

Aboard USS Ford: More Weapons, More Launches, Faster & Safer

Aboard USS Ford: More Weapons, More Launches, Faster & Safer
Aboard USS Ford: More Weapons, More Launches, Faster & Safer

SOMEWHERE OFF THE EAST COAST: When our aging C-2 Greyhound aircraft took off from the USS Gerald R. Ford the experience was clearly different. Propelled by the electro-magnetic system that has replaced steam catapults it was much smoother and much quicker. The new launch and landing systems provide key tools for a significant reshaping of the…

Navy Gets First Bell-Boeing CMV-22B: What It Means

Navy Gets First Bell-Boeing CMV-22B: What It Means
Navy Gets First Bell-Boeing CMV-22B: What It Means

The Navy’s Osprey differs from the Marine Corps and Air Force versions, boasting an enhanced fuel capacity, which required wing modifications to deal with the greater weight.

Paris Air Show: It’s Hard To Demo What Makes Fighters Like F-35 Deadly

Paris Air Show: It’s Hard To Demo What Makes Fighters Like F-35 Deadly
Paris Air Show: It’s Hard To Demo What Makes Fighters Like F-35 Deadly

As a boy growing up in the 1950s, I looked forward every year to the new cars and how different they would be from last year’s models. Obviously, I am not doing that in 2019, because the combination of what the frame of the car can deliver aerodynamically interacts with software and advanced materials to…

What Must Be Done With Erdogan’s Turkey

What Must Be Done With Erdogan’s Turkey
What Must Be Done With Erdogan’s Turkey

When I visited Turkey last year, it was clear that President Erdogan was on a path to break with the traditions of Ataturk and the secular state. In a period when the global impact of the various strands of Islam are having significant global impact, the President of Turkey has focused on emphasizing Turkey’s Islamic…

The Future is Now: The RAAF & Boeing Australia Build F-35’s Unmanned Wingman

The Future is Now: The RAAF & Boeing Australia Build F-35’s Unmanned Wingman
The Future is Now: The RAAF & Boeing Australia Build F-35’s Unmanned Wingman

I have been travelling to Australia and working with the Williams Foundation in Canberra for five years. What I have found most fascinating about my time there and the journey of discovery of the RAAF is how they have fully embraced the F-35 and reshaping the eco system for the 21st century air combat force they…

Will Germany, Not Ready & Slow To Invest, Keep EU Leadership, Deter Putin

Will Germany, Not Ready & Slow To Invest, Keep EU Leadership, Deter Putin
Will Germany, Not Ready & Slow To Invest, Keep EU Leadership, Deter Putin

The Cold War has not returned, but the Russians have. The challenge for the Trump Administration is less about whether the US cares about European defense; it is much more about a strategic shift of American attention to dealing with the Chinese and North Korean threats.

After Mattis: Strategic Challenge & Opportunity For President Trump

After Mattis: Strategic Challenge & Opportunity For President Trump
After Mattis: Strategic Challenge & Opportunity For President Trump

Whatever you think of Jim Mattis, his resignation and the outflow of officials that will follow create a major foreign policy problem for the United States. There is not one ally who is applauding Mattis’s departure — but depart he will, all the same. So what must President Trump and his next defense secretary do,…

Aussies At Impasse With France Over New Sub; Japan May Win

Aussies At Impasse With France Over New Sub; Japan May Win
Aussies At Impasse With France Over New Sub; Japan May Win

France and Australia must resolve major differences over the Aussies’ new submarine program before a new Australian government is elected next year, and the most obvious alternative is Japan.

Australia Broadens Its Military Relationships With Shipbuilding Deals

Australia Broadens Its Military Relationships With Shipbuilding Deals
Australia Broadens Its Military Relationships With Shipbuilding Deals

  CANBERRA: As the Chinese challenge grows, Australia is clearly concerned about expanded Chinese influence within Australia and with regard to Chinese efforts to reshape the external environment to expand the influence and power of the Chinese authoritarian state. Clearly the United States remains Australia’s core ally in dealing with the Chinese challenge, but as…

Transforming The RAF: F-35B, Carriers, Typhoon TyTAN, & More

Transforming The RAF: F-35B, Carriers, Typhoon TyTAN, & More
Transforming The RAF: F-35B, Carriers, Typhoon TyTAN, & More

The future of the RAF is on display at the Farnborough Air Show. With the F-35, the RAF is part of the multi-domain airpower transformation and will work closely with European allies, notably in reshaping Northern Tier Defense. With the Typhoon, the RAF is seeking a modernized aircraft reworked to compliment the F-35 but with a yet undetermined relationship with its European partners. And the A330MRTT and A400M aircraft, as well as MBDA missiles, are part of a broader context of resolving Brexit.

Helsinki Summit: What Can Trump & Putin Learn From Finland?

Helsinki Summit: What Can Trump & Putin Learn From Finland?
Helsinki Summit: What Can Trump & Putin Learn From Finland?

Presidents Putin and Trump will meet soon in Helsinki.  At a time of uncertainty in the US-Russia relationship, the meeting is an important step forward in clarifying that relationship, one that should be not reduced to a Trump tweet or a Putin chess move. Where it is being held is significant. Helsinki was part of the…

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